They're not even really a big secret anymore. You can go to a website right now and for less than $500 get a rock so big and bright your girlfriend's panties will break the sound barrier hitting the ground.

peasants_are_revolting:This text is now purple: Somacandra: The moral of the story: colonialism sucks ass (the bad kind), no matter how hard Dinesh D'Souza tries to polish that turd.

It's hard to complain too hard about British colonialism. They tended to leave places in better condition than they found them.

\Now Belgian colonialism...

Exactly. Most of the places the Brits colonized would have zero infrastructure if they hadn't been there. I get tired of former colonies, particularly on the African continent, blaming all of their problems on the West.

Didn't britain start i's colonization in the 1600's? When infrastructure was dirt roads? And largely depended on slave labour? Such as the original infrastructure of America? I'm really not an expert, but it seems like britain gave infrastructure that they wouldn't have had like Iraq now has infrastructure like they wouldn't have had. In fact, wasn't the Caribbean colonies in the 18th century populated 3/4ths by African slaves?

cgraves67:Treygreen13: rickythepenguin: hitlersbrain: You can grow diamonds pretty cheap in a lab. They are actually quite worthless. The only way to tell which ones were dug out of the ground by some dying African slave worker is by looking for the imperfections that are hard to fake. The more perfect the diamond, the less value it has.

Joe Rogan mentioned that recently on his podcast. he was taken to some top secret facility in I think Russia, (he had to leave his iPod / smartphone so it couldn't make a GPS track of where he went) and engineers had perfected the synthetic diamond. as you said, the synthetics was technically more "pure" (and thus, you'd think 'perfect') than "organic" diamonds, but were bizarrely nowhere near as valuable. people would rather have the real thing, even with microscopic imperfections, than an artifical object that was technically a "better" product.

They're not even really a big secret anymore. You can go to a website right now and for less than $500 get a rock so big and bright your girlfriend's panties will break the sound barrier hitting the ground.

That last sentence got a good laugh out of me.

I wouldn't trust rogan about anything outside his area of expertise: drugs, the mma, and ancient aliens. If he says what allows apraissers to differntiate the two are organic are flawed while synthetic are perfect I'd put money on him being at least half wrong.

Just a diamond, can't make anything right. But that scumbag country made heroes of those people for showing the upstart Indians who was boss. If Britain want to pretend they've changed, this is one step.

phalamir:r1niceboy: Britain could always say, "We accept this gem, and the curry, in payment for your country not being ruled by men in pajamas, being a literate society, a democracy, giving your educated sons and daughters a place to earn a decent living, and less of a third world shiathole than would otherwise have been the case. You're welcome!"

You do realize that India fell into shiatholism because the EIC raped it blind, right? Bengal was a top producer of cotton goods, for example, before the EIC got ahold of it - and got turned into a complete importer of sloth by the EIC taking a flame-thrower to the local economy One o0f the things that allowed Britain to be the premier commercial empire was because it was yanking stuff out of India for cheap and then selling the largess at top-shelf prices. Educating the Indians wasn't something done to help the Indians, but because the British needed more clerks than they could reasonably expect to ship over from Dorset. and the idea was educate the Indians to show them that they were inferior to the British, so the Indians would serve as grateful inferiors to Britain. It would be like saying Afro-Americans should be glad the Southern gentry taught them Western agricultural practices. As far as democracy, the British fought tooth and nail to deny India any sort of democratic process. When Canada was getting Dominion status (and the Americans had had local assemblies while colonies), Britain was actively tightening restrictions in India. At best, it was "you can be selected for a minority of seats in this completely toothless assembly that the Viceroy won't even pretend to listen to". Number of Indian seats in Parliament? Zero. Number of local, democratic assemblies in India with deomcratically elected officials? Zero. Anything India got from Britain was in spite of, not because of the British.

See also: Why Iran hates us, and has every right to hate us, and why it is Britain's fault

the best precious stone i ever saw belonged to a bald headed happy overweight bartender at Little Joe's. Kenny the bartender was fond of placing a large fake Ruby in his belly button and displaying it to patrons with pride, referring to the decoration as his "sex stone".

rickythepenguin:MythDragon: Edge: British Military with aircraft carriers, Apaches, and cluster bombs"

ha. when that show was popping, there was an episode where they gave Apache Warrior the edge over Roman Gladiator (mainly because as I recall, the bow and arrow was superior and more lethal than the gladiator's close-in weapons, but who cares.)

anywyas, there was a thread here and some dude was mega butthurt about that. he was like, "that show is BULLshiat! there is NO WAY a roman gladiator would lose to a stone age technology! no freaking way, period. I call bullshiat! Didn't they see Russell Crowe in "Gladiator"? this is bullshiat! No freaking way Russell Crowe loses to Tonto. Go watch "Gladiator", you assholes. Seriously. this is bullshiat and I'm boycotting the show FOREVER!"

it was like, 'gay for russell crowe much, Gladiatormitter?"

An Indian's arrows would be crap vs a Roman Phalanx formation.

Hold up shields as the arrows bounce off, get in close, and remind the redskins the folly of pissing off whitey.

They're not even really a big secret anymore. You can go to a website right now and for less than $500 get a rock so big and bright your girlfriend's panties will break the sound barrier hitting the ground.

You can get a 4.91 carat synthetic diamond from them for less than 500. If you want to go comically large they offer a 16 carat diamond for $1600. Please don't do that, though. Nobody will believe you've got the scratch for a 16 carat diamond unless people think you've got a cool mil lying around just for rings.

relcec:I wouldn't trust rogan about anything outside his area of expertise: drugs, the mma, and ancient aliens. If he says what allows apraissers to differntiate the two are organic are flawed while synthetic are perfect I'd put money on him being at least half wrong.

i take everything Joe says with a grain of salt but he's entertaining. his podcast is AWESOME.

yeah, but they didn't fight that way on the show. just head to head. i mean, conversely, 10 apaches with bow and arrow and slings and atlatls and shiat versus one gladiator would equally be a bloodbath.

cgraves67:They're not even really a big secret anymore. You can go to a website right now and for less than $500 get a rock so big and bright your girlfriend's panties will break the sound barrier hitting the ground.

That last sentence got a good laugh out of me.

They're awesome if you go with a reputable company (the lab ones have been graded since ~2007, so if you find one that has theirs graded

They're not even really a big secret anymore. You can go to a website right now and for less than $500 get a rock so big and bright your girlfriend's panties will break the sound barrier hitting the ground.

I can't speak to their bands, but I've seen some diamonds come off there and they're very nice. Also they're based in America so if you have a problem, you at least have some kind of legal resource instead of dealing with a fly by night Russian company.

If you want to go comically large they offer a 16 carat diamond for $1600. Please don't do that, though. Nobody will believe you've got the scratch for a 16 carat diamond unless people think you've got a cool mil lying around just for rings.

those bottomfeeders can keep that overhyped piece of rock. We are busy making progress. and besides, in 50 years, they will be begging to come to India anyway. But we are elephants, we have a loooong memory

When I was growing up I was coerced into giving $1 each week to the Catholic Church at Sunday Mass. I had no say in this and failure to comply ensured a prompt and vengeful response on Monday morning from the nuns who monitored this activity each week. (Our names and class numbers were on each envelope)

No, having gained free will and an understanding what the Catholic Church stands for, I WANT MY MONEY BACK! I WILL SUE FOR REPERATIONS!

TV's Vinnie:rickythepenguin: MythDragon: Edge: British Military with aircraft carriers, Apaches, and cluster bombs"

ha. when that show was popping, there was an episode where they gave Apache Warrior the edge over Roman Gladiator (mainly because as I recall, the bow and arrow was superior and more lethal than the gladiator's close-in weapons, but who cares.)

anywyas, there was a thread here and some dude was mega butthurt about that. he was like, "that show is BULLshiat! there is NO WAY a roman gladiator would lose to a stone age technology! no freaking way, period. I call bullshiat! Didn't they see Russell Crowe in "Gladiator"? this is bullshiat! No freaking way Russell Crowe loses to Tonto. Go watch "Gladiator", you assholes. Seriously. this is bullshiat and I'm boycotting the show FOREVER!"

it was like, 'gay for russell crowe much, Gladiatormitter?"

An Indian's arrows would be crap vs a Roman Phalanx formation.

[1.bp.blogspot.com image 600x400]

Hold up shields as the arrows bounce off, get in close, and remind the redskins the folly of pissing off whitey.

Perhaps. However, you're forgetting tha:

#1. Deadliest Warrior is a one on one competition (or at least it was when the Apache won) so there is no Phalanx formation.#2. The Roman Gladiator, in this case, is equipped with a rather small shield - one about the size and weight expected of a gladiator. Remember, the point of the battle was offense, blood, kills.#3. The fight occurs (in this scenario) in the woods and at range. Not exactly "home turf" for the Gladiator.#4. The Gladiator comes to battle with a net. I mean, come on. A net.

andhravodu:those bottomfeeders can keep that overhyped piece of rock. We are busy making progress. and besides, in 50 years, they will be begging to come to India anyway. But we are elephants, we have a loooong memory

So you don't believe in "returnism" but you believe in stealing. Cool ethics bro!

THIS. Even if you're not giving it back, at least try and pretend you understand you stole it. FFS. I can understand why you wouldn't want to return it, politics is a dirty game, but you farked up, admit it and move on.

Funny thing, HE didn't steal it. He wasn't even farking alive when it happened. So no, he really doesn't need to understand that.

This is exactly like the blacks demanding reparations for slavery, in the United States. fark you. You weren't a slave, so unless you are going to do forced labor for the next few years, you aren't getting any reparations. Wellfare I guess isn't a reparation.

You are comparing apples and oranges. This is a physical item that was stolen and can be given back. A better comparison would be things the Nazis stole during WW2 from other countries now being in Germany's possessions. The other countries ask for them back and Germany says "F*ck you, we don't believe in returnism".

WhippingBoy:andhravodu: those bottomfeeders can keep that overhyped piece of rock. We are busy making progress. and besides, in 50 years, they will be begging to come to India anyway. But we are elephants, we have a loooong memory

They're not even really a big secret anymore. You can go to a website right now and for less than $500 get a rock so big and bright your girlfriend's panties will break the sound barrier hitting the ground.

URL or we'll be forced to call shenanigans.

In about 5 minutes, I found a site that makes synthetic stones. Many of the synthetics they sell must be really sloppily made, because they retail for like $15. However, a 1-karat pure carbon diamong goes for roughly $4000.

So you don't believe in "returnism" but you believe in stealing. Cool ethics bro!

THIS. Even if you're not giving it back, at least try and pretend you understand you stole it. FFS. I can understand why you wouldn't want to return it, politics is a dirty game, but you farked up, admit it and move on.

Funny thing, HE didn't steal it. He wasn't even farking alive when it happened. So no, he really doesn't need to understand that.

This is exactly like the blacks demanding reparations for slavery, in the United States. fark you. You weren't a slave, so unless you are going to do forced labor for the next few years, you aren't getting any reparations. Wellfare I guess isn't a reparation.

You are comparing apples and oranges. This is a physical item that was stolen and can be given back. A better comparison would be things the Nazis stole during WW2 from other countries now being in Germany's possessions. The other countries ask for them back and Germany says "F*ck you, we don't believe in returnism".

Alright, you make a reasonable point. I sided with Germany in that argument as well though. ;)

You can't have it back, we took it fair and square.

Other possible items that are included... the united states (from the british)... the united states (from the indians)... the spanish isles, the greek isles, the... well this list is basically every item/land grab in history. Do we REALLY want to start down that road?

Here is the thing about pricing diamonds. The things are only worth what someone will pay. You could argue that they ~100 karat diamond in the Queen's crown could be worth millions. But in reality, it's sitting in a case in London, and will never be sold to anyone. Ever. So, it's effectively worthless.

A couple of days ago, there was a crazy robbery at an airport in Europe (somewhere). They made off with like $50 million (or something like that), in loose diamonds. How much are they really worth? If they can get anyone to by them at all, considering how hot they are, they will sell for pennies compared to their supposed worth.

So you don't believe in "returnism" but you believe in stealing. Cool ethics bro!

THIS. Even if you're not giving it back, at least try and pretend you understand you stole it. FFS. I can understand why you wouldn't want to return it, politics is a dirty game, but you farked up, admit it and move on.

Funny thing, HE didn't steal it. He wasn't even farking alive when it happened. So no, he really doesn't need to understand that.

This is exactly like the blacks demanding reparations for slavery, in the United States. fark you. You weren't a slave, so unless you are going to do forced labor for the next few years, you aren't getting any reparations. Wellfare I guess isn't a reparation.

You are comparing apples and oranges. This is a physical item that was stolen and can be given back. A better comparison would be things the Nazis stole during WW2 from other countries now being in Germany's possessions. The other countries ask for them back and Germany says "F*ck you, we don't believe in returnism".

Alright, you make a reasonable point. I sided with Germany in that argument as well though. ;)

You can't have it back, we took it fair and square.

Other possible items that are included... the united states (from the british)... the united states (from the indians)... the spanish isles, the greek isles, the... well this list is basically every item/land grab in history. Do we REALLY want to start down that road?

I dunno if you can count The United States as being stolen from "The British". I mean, "The British" stole it from "The British".

Kahabut:Walker: Kahabut: PsiChick: Walker: You are comparing apples and oranges. This is a physical item that was stolen and can be given back. A better comparison would be things the Nazis stole during WW2 from other countries now being in Germany's possessions. The other countries ask for them back and Germany says "F*ck you, we don't believe in returnism".

So you don't believe in "returnism" but you believe in stealing. Cool ethics bro!

THIS. Even if you're not giving it back, at least try and pretend you understand you stole it. FFS. I can understand why you wouldn't want to return it, politics is a dirty game, but you farked up, admit it and move on.

Funny thing, HE didn't steal it. He wasn't even farking alive when it happened. So no, he really doesn't need to understand that.

This is exactly like the blacks demanding reparations for slavery, in the United States. fark you. You weren't a slave, so unless you are going to do forced labor for the next few years, you aren't getting any reparations. Wellfare I guess isn't a reparation.

You are comparing apples and oranges. This is a physical item that was stolen and can be given back. A better comparison would be things the Nazis stole during WW2 from other countries now being in Germany's possessions. The other countries ask for them back and Germany says "F*ck you, we don't believe in returnism".

Alright, you make a reasonable point. I sided with Germany in that argument as well though. ;)

You can't have it back, we took it fair and square.

Other possible items that are included... the united states (from the british)... the united states (from the indians)... the spanish isles, the greek isles, the... well this list is basically every item/land grab in history. Do we REALLY want to start down that road?

I dunno if you can count The United States as being stolen from "The British". I mean, "The British" stole it from "The British".